To sum it up, Western Dental told me all the exams would be free, then charged me $304 for exams.
I went into Western Dental bright and early on a Saturday which was my day off. Everything went downhill the minute I checked in.
After the front desk staff checked me in and saw that I was there for a cleaning, she immediately let me know that the doctor who's normally present was not in the office that day. (And they failed to notify me of this prior to my appt.) Then she went on to say that they have a new doctor on staff and they have to check and see if she's in network with my insurance. (I'm thinking; if Western Dental itself is in network with my insurance, why would they have staff members who aren't in network?) Then, I told her if I wasn't able to get the cleaning I'd just go home. She had the nerve to say, "Well you can just come back on Monday", as if people don't work Monday through Friday. (There's a reason I'm here on a Saturday early in the morning.) Since I only wanted a cleaning, I decided to leave. Then she let me know that they could at least do the exams, and that because I'm a new patient it's routine that they do exams -- which would be FREE. At the end of my visit, I was charged $300. One of the staff told me she had put a copy of my receipt in an envelope and handed it to me. After I got home I reviewed the contents of the envelope, there was an itemized receipt with the breakdown of the charges. They were very slick in doing this as the receipt I signed in the office simply showed my balance of $304.
I reviewed the items on my receipt with my insurance company and learned that one of the items was a preventive service (100% covered by insurance) and the other 4 weren't covered, stating that the office should've given me the option of whether or not I wanted to pay for it.
So here we are 10 days later and the office REFUSES to follow up with my insurance company or direct with me. I actually got in touch with someone right before Christmas and I was told that the office manager was TOO BUSY to take my call so because the office was very busy with surgeries. (I'm thinking to myself, well she's not personally doing the surgeries and designated staff run the front desk, so what is the problem?)
The staff at Western Dental in Chandler were very slick and pulled a fast one. Who in the hell pays $300 for a routine cleaning?!?! The proper thing to do is to present the patient with an option of non-covered services THEN ASK THE PATIENT if they are willing to pay for it, not tell them that all exams are free slap them with a bill. I've learned that when you're not in uniform, people treat you differently because they think you're a civilian.
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